Hey. Guardian Angel here. This is my first R&C fic, but I've written before, so don't hold back with anything you want to say. My apologies in advance, I don't have Word on my computer, and all my attempts at Word Processing have failed miserably, because of names like "Qwark".

I don't own Ratchet and Clank, though I admire those who do; they've created a fine series.

For the record, Italics can mean one of two things, thoughts, or memories. It should be fairly obvious which is which, but if you need clarification, PM me.

Edit: Sorry for any confusion on my behalf, my computer is experiencing...technical difficulties where Fanfiction is involved...

The dimension of the Zoni was a curious thing indeed; it was neither here nor there, now nor then, and was always changing. One day it would take on the appearance of a lush forest, complete with serrateeth prowling around, the next it would be a desolate landscape, ice glistening dangerously under inviting piles of snow.

The little robot, gleaming silver in the harsh sunlight, stared blankly at today's change of scenery. He was currently sitting in the middle of a large crater, bits of metal were scattered about, glinting every now and then; the whole area was dusty brown, sometimes ranging all the way to a firey orange. It was all desert, there was a cliff towering above his current seat. He had to say, this place intrigued him. What was it called?

In the depths of his central processing unit, something screamed 'Veldin! Veldin you moron!' at him, but he didn't mind it. That little voice had taken to adding it's commentary lately...actually, he couldn't remember a day going by where it had been silent. Had it always been like this? His mind was too foggy for him to remember, it always had been...

Itching to satisfy his curiosity, the robot noticed a series of small ledges, almost like stairs, and made his way up, climbing, walking, even levitating a bit, but he got distracted before reaching his goal.

Now who would build a house all the way out here?

Upon closer inspection, he realized that it wasn't a house, more of a garage, possibly a storage shed. Still, it seemed like a bad idea; getting up here and back to where ever with tools, or something of the like couldn't have been easy.

Darn it! Now he wanted to find out what was up with this place!

Well, he could, of course; he wasn't exactly in this dimension. Climbing rocks or taking a hike was one thing, but technically speaking, he wasn't in this world; he could just walk right through the walls...and that was exactly what he did.

It was a strange place, part of it looked like it had been blown away, at one point. You couldn't tell from the outside- whoever had repaired it had done well, in that respect- but they didn't seem to have cared that the new materials used in fixing it were easy to tell from the original parts, on the inside. The interior decorating was non-existant. There were two chairs and a television, plus a poster of someone he felt he should recognize... The image of the man in spandex looked like it had been torn down, then put back up on several occasions; and there was a box filled with heavy artillery in the corner. Several of these weapons were scattered around on the floor, along with quite a few pairs of mismatched armor. The robot decided that he liked this place... He posed the same question he'd asked himself earlier. Where was he?

"Beats me. The ship must have run out of fuel while on autopilot."

That was another voice that echoed in his head, from time to time. He was unsure who it had belonged to, but the feeling that it was somebody close to him was always present. It always spoke like that, too; casual, hardly ever worried. There had been one entertaining afternoon, on a busy planet full of lifeforms, where he had listened to it and the other voice having a serious discussion over...something.

"The thrusters are fine, Clank. See?"

"Clank! Hit the auxilary thrusters!"

"Clank! Clank! Are you alright?"

That voice was always talking about 'Clank'...But whenever the other's voice almost got to saying a name...

"...Watch out!"

"...I think they followed us..."

There was a giggle, from far across the room; the robot looked up, but relaxed when he realized that it was just one of the Zoni. "There you are, sire! Are you enjoying yourself? Gen thought you would like this planet..."

The Zoni babbled on, but the robot was able to identify him as Shi, the most childish of the three Zoni.

"-course, Mal thought it was a bad idea, but he doesn't think anything is a good idea..." Shi drawled out, finally cutting his tirade short.

There was a dull glow from behind the robot, but it only lasted for a moment.

"Sire." Mal greeted dully, taking in the decor- or there lackof- distastefully. "I don't suppose this little mudball has helped you remember your reign?"

The robot shook his head.

"I did not think it would. Gen needs to get her circuitry looked at..." He mused in his usual monotone.

That was another thing that confused the little robot. The Zoni claimed that he had once ruled over them, not in this form, but it was the same soul in his little titanium frame.

As if on cue, the third Zoni, Gen, appeared in the small...home?

"I assure you, Mal, my circuitry is perfectly functional. What do you propose we do?" She said cooly, staring the other down with unyeilding sight sensors.

"The lost one is the cause. I am sure of it." Mal declared, practically spitting the phrase lost one. "Defying one's purpose like that...it disrupts the balance of things!"

The robot blinked at that. looking around the garage again- that was what they had called it! The garage!- things seemed clearer, now. He remembered the three occasions where the poster of Captain Qwark had been torn down, tacked back up grudgingly by...

"-chet, we cannot allow it to be used even once. It is too dangerous!"

Oblivious to their supposed king's revelation, Mal and Gen continued their heated debate; Shi floating nearby, helpless to stop them.

"That's nonsense, Mal. This has happened in the past-"

"Exactly!" Mal interrupted heatedly. "And look where that got us!"

"Our king set out to stablize things, and he suceeded. The small one's task was to see that his charge fufill's his purpose; but that was never set in stone, now was it?" Gen's reply was calm, almost as though she'd rehersed it; but Mal was having none of that.

"Gen, you fool of a Zoni! You know as well as I that the title "Lost one" was given to that creature for it to live up to!" He paused in his rant long enough to give the feminine Zoni a hard look. "You were correct about one thing, though. Our king cannot return without that thing's purpose having been filled."

"You can't kill me, Lombax! Only I know your purpose! Only I know your true name!"

Was title not a synonym for name? The little robot unconciously cringed at the thought. He'd never heard that voice before; it sent shivers through his frame and made him feel truly foul.

"Behold! The last Lombax in the universe!"

"Ratchet..."

It was merely whispered, but a sudden hush fell over the three Zoni. Mal looked looked at him crossly, like he was a child who'd just uttered a disgusting swearword. Shi cocked his head curiously, and Gen's expression was unreadible, as usual.

But finally, Clank stood before the three Zoni, facing them down.

Gen turned back to Mal, "See? He must follow this through. There is no other option."

The male Zoni huffed and faded from view, but Clank was sure he'd heard "I can think of one other way..."

The remaining Zoni watched the robot carefully.

"What are your wishes, sire?" Gen asked, turning her head to survey the garage.

Clank's response was short and precise. "I would like to go back to my own dimension."

He could have sworn that the Zoni's expression lightened, but the only thing that she said was: "Very well. Shi?"

Shi nodded abruptly -as Gen disappeared as well- then turned back to Clank, cocking his head once more.

"Where do you wish to go, sire?"

"Apogee Station, in the Nundac asteroid ring."

Not terribly confident, but what do you think?

I've got this posted on my DeviantART account too, so if you see it there, don't freak out. At least, not if you're reading the work by Blazichu...